Food preparation and method

ABSTRACT

A method of preparing a food item includes the steps of placing a first food element in a package base, placing a second food element in the package base, adding a package top to create a package, and drawing the first food element around the second food element by vacuum sealing the package. The method also includes the step of forming a food item in which the first food element substantially envelops the second food element by cooking the first and second food elements in the sealed package. Each food element retains its identity after cooking.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to prepared food items and method ofpreparing such food items, and more particularly, to packaged food itemsand methods of food preparation and packaging.

2. Description of the Related Art

High Heat Food Preparation

Currently, there is a market for pre-cooked, packaged food. For example,busy people, restaurants, and the military desire the convenienceprovided by such products. Typically, such food items are cooked andthen packaged, usually being either chilled or frozen for travel totheir ultimate destination. As an example, pot roast, turkey and gravy,or meatloaf can be cooked and then packaged prior to chilling fortransport to a grocery store, where the food item is stored anddisplayed in a refrigerated case.

These examples are typically prepared using high heat cooking methods,such as baking in an oven. Other examples of high heat cooking methodsinclude grilling or broiling. These high heat methods often result infood that is unevenly cooked and lose some of their natural juices.While such results may be desirable for foods such as a medium raresteak, for many foods a more even cooking is desirable. In addition,subsequent to cooking and prior to packaging, the opportunity exists forthe cooked food to come into contact with bacteria prior to packaging,thereby potentially contaminating the food, and at least limiting theshelf life of the food.

Additionally, the ability to provide a high-quality, consistent productoften relies on the culinary skill of the end user. Without propertraining, consistent desired results are difficult to achieve.

SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide aprocess via which a consistent, high quality food product can bedelivered without significant culinary skill on the part of an end user.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achievedby providing a method of preparing a food item, including the steps ofplacing a first food element in a package base, placing a second foodelement in the package base, adding a package top to create a package,and drawing the first food element around the second food element byvacuum sealing the package. The method also includes the step of forminga food item in which the first food element substantially envelops thesecond food element by cooking the first and second food elements in thesealed package. Each food element retains its identity after cooking.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are alsoachieved by providing a vacuum-sealed, multi-component, sous-vide-cookedfood item, including a first food element forming a structural envelopearound a second food element that was not fully cooked prior to beingenveloped during vacuum packing.

Additional and/or other aspects and advantages of the present inventionwill be set forth in the description that follows, or will be apparentfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects and advantages of embodiments of theinvention will be more readily appreciated from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top, plan view of a package base in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the package base of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the package base of FIG. 2 with afirst food element disposed therein;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the package base and first foodelement of FIG. 4 with a second food element disposed therein;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the base of FIG. 2 with a packagetop thereon to form a package;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the package of FIG. 6 in avacuum-sealed state;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the sealed package of FIG. 7 beingcooked to form a food item;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the food item of FIG. 8 beingchilled;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of an opened package exposing the fooditem of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the food item of FIG. 8 served on an ediblefood delivery item; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 are respective cross-sectional views of alternativepackage bases in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinlike reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Theembodiments described herein exemplify, but do not limit, the presentinvention by referring to the drawings. As will be understood by oneskilled in the art, terms such as up, down, bottom, and top arerelative, and are employed to aid illustration, but are not limiting.

Additionally, although many people can be involved in the describedprocesses to produce and use the described food items, for brevity, theyare collectively described as a single user. One skilled in the art willappreciate however, that embodiments of the present invention are notlimited to a single user.

Sous-vide cooking is a method of sealing food in an airtight container(generally a plastic bag) and cooking the food in the sealed containerin a water bath with a well-regulated temperature. In sous-vide cookingprocesses, the inside and outside of the food item cook to substantiallythe same level and the food maintains its natural juices.

Generally, the sous-vide cooking temperature is much lower thantemperatures normally used for cooking. For example, in high heatcooking methods, such as roasting or broiling in an oven, or grilling,temperatures of 140-260° C. (˜300-500° F.) or higher are common, whereaswith sous-vide cooking, typical temperatures for cooking meats are about55-60° C. (˜130-140° F.) and typical vegetable cooking temperatures areslightly higher.

FIGS. 1-11 illustrate a method of preparing a pre-cooked,multi-component food item in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. According to one embodiment, the fully-cooked,multi-component food item is sous-vide cooked.

In step 10, a user forms a package base 40 into a predetermined shape,preferably by vacuum forming a plastic sheet into the predeterminedshape. One skilled in the art will understand that other materials canbe employed for the package base 40. The plastic is preferablyfood-grade plastic, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE).More preferably the plastic is free of phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA).

According to one embodiment, the predetermined shape is a cup-shape 42,as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As described in greater detail below,however, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to suchcup-shapes.

In step 12, the user places a first food element 44 in the package base40, as shown in FIG. 4. Examples of the first food element 44 include,but are not limited to an egg (e.g., beaten), egg white, cheese, crepedough, or raw puff pastry. According to one embodiment, the first foodelement 44 is a liquid. Preferably the first food element 44 ispasteurized, but uncooked prior to being introduced into the packagebase 40. According to one embodiment, the first food element is notmeat.

Pasteurization is a process of heating a food to a certain temperature(generally around 70° C. (˜160° F.), for a period of time, and thencooling the item subsequent to removing it from the heat. The goal ofpasteurization is to kill most of the harmful germs (so that they areunlikely to cause illness) without major chemical alteration of thefood. In contrast, cooking causes a chemical alteration of the food.

Subsequently, in step 14, and as shown in FIG. 5, the user places asecond food element 46 in the package base 40. Examples of the secondfood element 46 include, but are not limited to chili, tomatoes,vegetables (such as spinach, artichokes, onions, and mushrooms), cheese,rice, pasta, or meat (for example, sausage, beef (such as hamburger),ham, bacon, turkey, or chicken), or a combination of these elements.According to one embodiment, the second food element is not meat.Preferably, both the first and second food elements 44 and 46 areproteins. Also, preferably the second food element 46 is pasteurized,but uncooked prior to being introduced into the package base 40. It willbe understood by one skilled in the art, however, that the first andsecond food elements can be pasteurized after a vacuum sealing step(step 18, subsequently-described in greater detail).

Additionally, it will be understood that it may not be desirable for allthe natural juices of a food element, such as the second food element46, to be included in a final, cooked food item. Or, it may be desirablefor the exterior of one of the food elements to undergo a Maillardreaction (browning). Accordingly, at least one of the food elements canbe cooked or par-cooked prior to placing the food element in the packagebase 40.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the user adds a package top 48 (step 16) toform a package 50. Preferably the package top 48 is a plastic sheet, butone skilled in the art will understand that other materials can beemployed for the package top 48. The plastic is preferably food-gradeplastic, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE). Morepreferably the plastic is free of phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). Insous-vide cooking, the package, and in particular, a plastic package,provides a barrier between the water and the food and allows efficientheat transfer from the water to the food.

Subsequently, in step 18, the user vacuum seals the package 50 (FIG. 7).This vacuum sealing not only draws air out of the package, but alsodraws the first food element 44 around the second food element 46. Thevacuum sealing can also draw the first food element 44 into voids of thesecond food element 46. Vacuum sealing is known to those skilled in theart, and further description is omitted for brevity.

Following the vacuum sealing, the user cooks the first and second foodelements 44 and 46 in the sealed package 50 (step 20 and FIG. 8), using,for instance, a sous-vide cooking method and a cooker 52, to form afully-cooked food item 60. The user can also use steam to cook the firstand second food elements 44 and 46 in the sealed package 50.

As an example, the first food element 44 can be an uncooked, pasteurizedegg, and the second food element 46 can be uncooked, pasteurized sausagemeat. After vacuum sealing, the user cooks the contents of the package50 in a water bath at 73° C. (169° F.) for approximately 25 minutes. Asa result of the cooking, the first and second food elements 44 and 46retain their identity in the fully-cooked food item 60; the cooked eggforms a structural envelope around, and substantially encases the cookedsausage patty.

As another example, the first food element 44 can be pasteurized cheese,and the second food element 46 can be par-cooked, pasteurized hamburgermeat. The hamburger meat can be par-cooked using, for example, asous-vide cooking process, and can reach its final temperature duringthe enrobing process that forms the fully cooked food item.

The cheese should be large enough to be able to surround the hamburger.Alternatively, two slices of cheese can be used, for example, a firstlarge piece of cheese in the bottom of the package base, and a secondsmaller piece on top of the hamburger. After vacuum sealing, thecontents of the package 50 are cooked in a water bath at 85° C. (185°F.) for approximately 5 minutes. As a result of the cooking, the cheeseforms a structural envelope around, and substantially encases or enrobesthe cooked hamburger meat.

As a further example, the first food element 44 can be pasteurizedcheese, and the second food element 46 can be uncooked, pasteurizedhamburger meat. One skilled in the art will understand that raw meatshould be cooked in accordance with standards of the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration to have a safe internal temperature, as subsequentlydiscussed in greater detail. Sous vide cooking, however can be employed,for example, to cook hamburger meat to have a red or pink center ifdesired.

The cheese should be large enough to be able to surround the hamburger.Alternatively, two slices of cheese can be used, for example, a firstlarge piece of cheese in the bottom of the package base, and a secondsmaller piece on top of the hamburger. After vacuum sealing, thecontents of the package 50 are cooked in a water bath at 85° C. (185°F.) for approximately 5 minutes. Subsequently, the contents of thepackage 50 are cooled to a temperature below the melting point of thecheese. As a result, the cheese forms a structural envelope around, andsubstantially encases or enrobes the hamburger meat.

Then, the contents of the package 50 are be cooked in a water bath tobring the hamburger meat to the desired internal temperature, but at atemperature below the melting point of the cheese. For example, the usercan cook the contents of the package 50 in a water bath at 71° C. (165°F.) for approximately 25 minutes. Thus, the structural integrity of thecheese envelope is maintained, and the hamburger meat is cooked inside,retaining the natural juices. Although meat of differing fat contentscan be employed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, when using very lean meat, retention of all of the juicesresults in a desirably moist food item. Thus, embodiments of theinventive process can produce a lower-fat food item that is stilldesirably moist.

As yet another example, the first food element 44 can be an uncooked,pasteurized egg white, and the second food element can be uncooked bellpepper. Additional food elements, such as onion, mushrooms, or cheesecan be added as well. After vacuum sealing, the contents of the package50 are cooked in a water bath at 73° C. (169° F.) for approximately 25minutes. As a result of the cooking, the egg white forms a structuralenvelope around, and substantially encases the pepper (and other foodelements).

Similar processes can be employed to provide other food items, such as achili cheese dog (in which the cheese-enrobes chili and the hotdog),enrobed omelets (such as spinach and feta cheese enrobed in eggwhite, sausage and cheese enrobed in egg, roasted tomatoes andartichokes enrobed in egg, and chicken taco enrobed in egg and shaped ina triangle as subsequently described in greater detail), and othercheese-enrobed elements or combinations (such as roasted tomato andartichoke patty, turkey chili patty, beef chili patty, Latin spicepatty, chicken tacos shaped in a triangle, beef short rib fricasseepatty, and a thin-shaved roast beef (Philly)). One skilled in the artwill understand, however, that embodiments of the present invention arenot limited to these examples.

As opposed to a sauce or a marinade, subsequent to the cooking, thefirst food element substantially structurally envelops the second foodelement, and is self-supporting or self-coherent. Preferably, aftercooking, the first food element does not ooze, and is not leathery.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that the internaltemperature of certain food products reach certain levels to be “safe.”For example, the FDA recommends that ground meat and meat mixtures ofbeef, pork, veal, and lamb should reach an internal temperature of 71°C. (160° F.) and that fresh beef, pork, veal, and lamb should reach aninternal temperature of 63° C. (145° F.). Similarly, poultry shouldreach an internal temperature of 74° C. (165° F.). According to oneembodiment, when enrobing one or more of these elements in, for example,cheese, the elements can be cooked or par-cooked to bring the element toor near to its recommended “safe” internal temperature prior to enrobingbecause the heat transfer required to melt the cheese is less than thatrequired to bring the element from a refrigerated state to itsrecommended “safe” internal temperature.

After the cooking, and while still sealed in the package 50, the usercan chill the food item 60 (step 22 and FIG. 9). According to oneembodiment, the user refrigerates the food item 60. According to anotherembodiment, the user freezes the food item 60. The user can then shipthe food item 60 (step 24), for example, to a restaurant, a grocerystore, or a home.

Subsequently, and while still sealed in the package 50, the user canre-heat the food item (step 26) using, for example, an oven, a microwaveoven, or a water bath, for example, a pot of warm or hot water, or asous-vide cooker. Subsequent to the reheating (or merely subsequent tothe cooking step, without the chilling, shipping, and re-heating steps)the user can remove the food item 60 from the package 50 (FIG. 10), andplaced on or in an edible food delivery item 62, such as a bun, bread, abiscuit, a taco shell, a tortilla, a pancake, or flat bread (FIG. 11)for eating. Thus, an embodiment of the inventive process produces a fooditem that is ready for the edible food delivery item 62 in a singlestep.

For edible delivery items 62 such as a taco shell or a soft tortilla,the second food 46 element can be pre-shaped to a specific desired shapeprior to insertion into the package base 40. Alternatively, the moldemployed during the step of forming the package base (step 10) can forma mold for the second food element 46, such that during the vacuumsealing step (step 18), the second food element 46 is formed to thedesired shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the package base 64 canbe formed with a triangle or V-shape 66, so that the resulting food itemcan conveniently be placed in a hard taco shell. Similarly, as shown inFIG. 13, the package base 68 can be formed into a substantiallycylindrical tube 70, so that the resulting food item can conveniently beplaced into a soft tortilla, which the user can then fold around thefood item.

According to one embodiment, a process in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention can be used multiple times to achieve a desiredend food item. For example, as previously-described, the first foodelement can be an uncooked, pasteurized egg, and the second food elementcan be uncooked, pasteurized sausage meat. After vacuum sealing, theuser cooks the contents of the package 50 in a water bath at 73° C.(169° F.) for slightly less time: approximately 20 minutes. As a resultof the cooking, the first and second food elements 44 and 46 retaintheir identity in the mostly-cooked food item; the mostly-cooked eggforms a structural envelope around, and substantially encases themostly-cooked sausage patty.

Then the user places a third food element, such as cheese into a secondpackage base, removes the mostly-cooked food item from the package, andplaces it in the second package base, on the cheese, and then eitherfolds over the cheese, or uses a second piece of cheese on top. Duringthe subsequent vacuum sealing after adding a package top to form asecond package, the cheese is drawn around the mostly-cooked food item.Then, the user cooks the third food element and the food item, forexample, in a water bath at 85° C. (185° F.) for approximately 5 minutesto form a second food item. In the second food item, the first, second,and third food elements retain their identity, and upon cooling belowthe melting point of the cheese, the third food element (cheese) forms astructural envelope around, and substantially encases the first fooditem (egg encasing the sausage).

Embodiments of the inventive method provide a controlled foodpreparation process that does not depend on the culinary skill of thefinal user. For example, the food item 60 can be re-heated and placed onthe edible food delivery item 62 by a user (e.g., a restaurant employee,or home user) who has minimal training. Thus, because the quality iscontrolled during the process, a consistent, high quality product can bedelivered by employing embodiments of the inventive method.

Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, the present invention is not limited to the describedembodiments. Instead, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined bythe appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of preparing a food item, comprising thesteps of: placing a first food element in a package base; placing asecond food element in the package base; adding a package top to createa package; drawing the first food element around the second food elementby vacuum sealing the package; forming a food item in which the firstfood element substantially envelops the second food element by cookingthe first and second food elements in the sealed package, each foodelement retaining its identity after cooking.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the first food element substantially envelops thesecond food element after removal from the sealed package.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising forming the package base. 4.The method according to claim 3, wherein forming the package basecomprises vacuum forming the package base.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the first food element is substantially uncooked priorto placing it in the package base.
 6. The method according to claim 5,wherein the second food element is substantially uncooked prior toplacing it in the package base.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the second food element is substantially uncooked prior toplacing it in the package base.
 8. The method according to claim 1,wherein the first and second food elements are pasteurized before thecooking step.
 9. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingchilling the food item after the cooking step.
 10. The method accordingto claim 9, wherein chilling the food item comprises freezing the fooditem.
 11. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingpre-forming the second element into a predetermined specialty shapeprior to the cooking step.
 12. The method according to claim 11, whereinthe specialty shape comprises a substantially circular patty.
 13. Themethod according to claim 11 wherein the specialty shape comprises oneof a taco-shaped triangular prism, a burrito-shaped cylinder, or asubstantially rectangular solid sandwich shape.
 14. The method accordingto claim 9, further comprising shipping the chilled food item.
 15. Themethod according to claim 14, further comprising reheating the fooditem.
 16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising removingthe reheated food item from the package and placing the food item in/onan edible food delivery item.
 17. The method according to claim 16,wherein the edible food delivery item comprises one of a bun, bread, anEnglish muffin, a croissant, a hard taco shell, a soft taco shell, atortilla, a pancake, or flat bread.
 18. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: placing a third food element in a second packagebase; removing the food item from the sealed package and placing thefood item in the second package base; adding a second package top tocreate a second package; drawing the third food element around the fooditem by vacuum sealing the second package; forming a second food item inwhich the third food element substantially envelops the first food itemby cooking the food item and the third food element, the first, second,and third food elements retaining their respective identities aftercooking.
 19. The method according to claim 1, comprising forming a moldwith the package base to ensure a desired shape of the food item. 20.The method according to claim 19, wherein the package base is a formedfilm.
 21. A vacuum-sealed, multi-component, sous-vide-cooked food item,including a first food element forming a structural envelope around asecond food element that was not fully-cooked prior to being envelopedduring vacuum packing.
 22. The food item according to claim 21, whereinthe envelope retains substantially all of the juices from cooking thesecond food element.